Protect Me From the Unknown
by nebula2
Summary: Sequel to "Watch Over Him". Morgan is worried about Reid but the younger man isn't forthcoming with answers. Tag to the episode "Corazon" Morgan/Reid slash.


Morgan looked around the table. They were all gathered around the conference room table, glancing through the material of their upcoming case. Well, that wasn't quite right. There was one person missing. The dark-skinned profiler looked down at his watch.

~_Where is he? _~ Morgan thought, worriedly. He should have already been at the office. Morgan had attempted to call Reid, and had gotten his voice mail immediately. ~_His phone is off and he didn't tell me he was going to do anything before work this morning. He didn't look well when he left my place last night. I should have insisted that I take him home. What if he didn't even get home? _~

Morgan's concern was quickly turning to panic. Should he start calling hospitals? Should he alert their co-workers to his concerns? Of course that would mean there would be questions asked. Their teammates didn't know he and Reid were seeing on another. JJ was the only one who knew, having found out when she had walked in on them. Neither of them had been ready to reveal that bit of information. The relationship was a new experience for the both of them and there were rules that could cause complications if their relationship was to come to light. Still, if something was wrong then all of that didn't matter. What mattered was that he know whether Reid was safe or not.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Prentiss' question brought Morgan out of his thoughts. Glancing up, he saw Reid standing near the empty chair beside him. ~He still doesn't look well, ~ Morgan thought, taking in Reid's pale skin and pain-filled eyes.

"Yeah. Why?" Reid asked, as he lifted his bag over his head.

"You're never late," Morgan replied, not giving Prentiss chance to speak.

"Have we started the briefing yet?" Reid countered.

"Just about to," Garcia said.

"Then I'm not late."

Morgan stifled a sigh. Arguing with the kid on the technicality wouldn't get them far. ~_He's here. He's safe and now is not the time to try confronting him on whatever it is that is bothering him or about where he was this morning, _~ Morgan told himself, forcing himself to concentrate on what Garcia was saying as she started the briefing.

* * *

><p>~He's too quiet, ~ Morgan thought as he walked with Reid through the Miami neighborhood en route to the community center. He had started to suspect something was wrong a few days ago, but Reid had denied it. Despite his attempts at coaxing information from Reid, the younger man had remained closed off.<p>

One of the things his relationship with Spencer Reid had taught him was that he had to have patience when dealing with the young genius. Whether it was patience in listening to him rattle off some obscure facts or waiting for him to open up, his normal forceful techniques wouldn't work. Yelling caused Reid to feel as if he did something wrong and draw away, apologizing. Forcing him to reveal something only caused Reid to draw further into himself.

"Hey, what's the matter with you? You're not going to give me a bunch of facts about the area and the demographics?"

"The Allapattah neighborhood is named after the Native American word for alligator," Reid replied, in a flat tone.

"There you go. There's the kid I know," Morgan replied, though he didn't really feel the words. He just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with Reid.

Again though, the case had to take precedence over trying to coax information out of Reid. Looking around, there was no sign of the community center they were looking for. Reid headed for a guy preparing a goat for cooking and asked for directions. The man gave them directions and then started scrubbing the pan.

Morgan heard a soft wince of pain. Looking over at Reid, he saw the younger man with his fingers pressed to his temple.

"Reid, you all right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. A lot better than that goat," he replied before turning away and heading in the direction the guy had pointed.

"Yeah, you got that right," Morgan said, with a final glance at the goat before following Reid.

The younger man was walking with his head down. _~Something is definitely not right with him, ~_ Morgan thought, even though he knew that there wasn't much that he could do about finding out what that was right now. ~_One thing is for sure, I'm keeping a close eye on him_.~

* * *

><p>Morgan listened to the phone ring waiting for an answer. The only answer that came was the recorded message of Reid's voice mail. Frustrated, Morgan flipped the phone shut and tossed it onto the coffee table. He sank back against the couch, running his hands back over his head. He was really getting sick of getting that voice message.<p>

"Where are you, Kid?" Morgan asked softly.

Beside him, Clooney whined softly as if answering his owner.

Morgan had gotten into an argument with Reid on the plane trip home after confronting him about going over to the house without his vest and without back-up. He had only been trying to show his concern for Reid's safety but Reid had gotten overly defensive. Had told him that he didn't need Morgan looking out for him like a father looking out for a kid.

"_I'm not some little kid that needs to be looked after every hour of the day," Reid said, the anger clear in his tone despite the low volume. They were standing by the coffee pot, the rest of the team in the cabin._

"_Has anyone ever said that you are?"_

"_You're scolding me for my actions. You're not the unit chief anymore. You have no right."_

"_Reid do you realize how worried I was when we couldn't find you? You could have been killed."_

"_Well then you wouldn't have had to baby-sit me anymore, would you?" Reid told him. Taking advantage of Morgan's stunned silence, he had retreated to the cabin, purposely sitting next to Prentiss to avoid the continuation of the conversation._

Reid had avoided him after they had landed in Virginia. Then the younger agent had left the office earlier than the rest of them. Morgan hadn't even realized Reid had left until he went to leave the office himself. Prentiss hadn't known where he was going to and Hotch had refused to give him any details, though Morgan suspected their unit chief didn't know much more than himself.

The doorbell rang, breaking through his thoughts. With a sigh, Morgan got to his feet. He wasn't much in the mood for visitors but with his car in the driveway and lights on in the house, pretending he wasn't home wasn't really much of an option.

Reaching the door, he looked through the peep hole, surprised at whom he saw standing on his front porch. Morgan quickly opened the door.

"Reid, I've been trying to call you," Morgan exclaimed.

"I know," Reid replied quietly, not giving him a reason as to why he hadn't answered or called him back. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," Morgan replied, stepping aside to let his friend enter.

As Reid stepped in from the porch, Morgan got a better look at him. Reid was pale and the pained look that he had worn while down in Miami was still present. In addition, his eyes were red and puffy, as if he had been crying.

"Kid, what's wrong?" Morgan asked, closing the front door with one hand and reaching out to touch Reid's arm with the other.

Reid didn't answer the question. Instead, he took the couple of steps necessary to close the distance between them, and slowly put his arms around Morgan. Wrapping his own arms around the younger man, Morgan held him close. He wanted answers but again he reminded himself that he needed to be patient.

~_At least if he's here with me, I know he's relatively okay, _~ Morgan thought.

Morgan held Reid as tightly as he dared, his lanky frame feeling fragile in his arms. Reid's head was on his shoulder. Morgan could feel the younger man's breath on his neck. Reid didn't say a word, nor give any indication that he was crying.

Ten minutes passed, with no words being exchanged between the two of them. Finally, Morgan led Reid over to the couch. With very little coaxing he had the younger man sitting on the couch and sat down next to him.

"Kid, where were you."

"I don't want to talk about it right now. Please?"

Morgan nodded, not happy with the answer but respecting his friend's privacy.

"Can you turn out the main lights?" Reid asked.

Morgan glanced at him and realized Reid was squinting, as if he was trying to block out some of the light. "Sure," he replied, reaching out to turn on the lamp by the couch. Then getting to his feet, Morgan turned off the overhead lights and returned to the couch.

"Is that better?" Morgan asked softly.

Reid nodded in reply.

Morgan reached out, and put his arms around Reid. Gently he pulled the younger man toward him, meeting with little resistance. Soon, Morgan was leaning back against the couch back, his feet propped up on the coffee table. Reid was laying on the couch, his head cradled in Morgan's arm. Looking down, Morgan noticed that Reid was wearing the yellow beaded bracelet that Julio had given him in Miami.

"You're actually wearing that thing?" Morgan asked.

"He said it would protect me."

"Protect you from what, Kid?"

"I don't know," Reid replied, fear clear in his voice.

"I'll protect you too, Kid," Morgan said, wrapping his arms around the younger man.

Reid reached up and grabbed a hold of Morgan's arm. He didn't try to remove it though, but instead gripped Morgan's forearm, as if he was trying to hold on.

Morgan looked down to see that Reid had closed his eyes. As much as Morgan wanted to get answers from the younger man, he knew that it wasn't going to be tonight. Reid clearly didn't want to talk about whatever it was that was bothering him despite seeking him out for comfort.

Morgan tilted his head forward and gently kissed Reid's forehead. Tonight, Morgan would be the comfort his friend was seeking. The answers could wait until later.


End file.
